The FBI searches the home of a Washington Post reporter in an investigation into classified documents

Agents from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided the home of a Washington Post reporter this week as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of leaking classified information, officials said.

In a post on X, US Attorney Pam Bondi said agents searched the home of a journalist who was allegedly “obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor.”

Bondi said the contractor was arrested.

The Washington Post has identified the BBC reporter as Hannah Natanson, who covered how President Donald Trump’s administration has dramatically reduced and reshaped the federal workforce.

Nathanson was at her home in Virginia on Wednesday when federal agents came to search her home, according to the Washington Post. They took her phone, a work PC and a Garmin watch, the outlet said.

Natanson was told she was not the focus of the investigation, according to the Washington Post, which reported that officials were investigating Aurelio Perez Lugones, a system official in Maryland who has a top-secret security clearance.

According to an FBI affidavit, Perez Lugones – a systems engineer and information technology specialist under contract with the government since 2002 – accessed and printed classified intelligence reports.

Officials said they found confidential information in a lunch box during a search of Perez Lugones’ car, according to court filings. The recording did not mention that Perez Lugones published the information.

Perez Lugones is accused of illegally retaining national defense information, court documents say. He is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

Bondi said the Trump administration “will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a serious risk to the national security of our nation and the brave men and women who serve our country.”

The search of Natanson’s home raised concerns among advocates of freedom of the press and freedom of expression.

“Any search targeting a journalist warrants intense scrutiny because this type of search can deter and impede reporting that is vital to our democracy,” Jamil Jaafar, executive director of the Knight First Management Institute, said in a statement.

Natanson previously wrote about her experience gathering more than 1,000 sources who currently and formerly worked in the federal government, reporting on the layoffs, buyouts and firings that Trump has used since returning to office to shrink the federal workforce and change the focus of several agencies.

Natanson wrote about sources within government agencies sharing information “they weren’t supposed to tell me” and about the intensity of receiving sensitive information from too many people.

In April, Bondi ended Biden-era policies that protected journalists from having their phone records confiscated or being forced to testify in leak investigations.